Benelli MP90 vs. Pardini SP vs. Hammerli 280 vs. Walther GSP

[ssauer2004]

I am looking for new bullseye pistol. I have done a ton of searching on this forum regarding the models listed in the thread subject. I have come to the conclusion that they are more or less the top models. I would love to shoot the guns prior to purchase. I have run into a couple of issues though, the club I belong to has a pistol team. Most of the members shoot either the Hammerli 280 or the Walther GSP. 99% of them are right-handed shooters. I am a lefty. I do shoot off-hand quite a bit, but will I get a good feel for the gun? I shot an older GSP right-handed and it felt a little heavy in the nose. I am wondering if I should even bother shooting the Hammerlis due to the fact that they are all right-handed. I do have several mechanical questions from current owners of any of the pistols listed:

1. In your expieience, is your gun finicky with ammo?

2. How hard is it to break down for a basic cleaning?

3. Have you had any issues with getting parts?

4. Have you owned one of these and them switched to another and why?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I only want to buy once, so that's why I am trying to do as much research as I possibly can


Thanks

[nvalcik]

I can only answer in regard to the Walther GSP, Walther GSP Expert and the Hammerli 280.

1. In your expieience, is your gun finicky with ammo?

I have never had any problems with any variant of the Walther GSP. The Hammerli 280 was much more prone to jamming with certain types of ammunition.

2. How hard is it to break down for a basic cleaning?

The Hammerli is a nightmare to clean properly. The Walther GSP's are in contrast very modular and easy to take down and clean.

3. Have you had any issues with getting parts?

The Hammerli 280 had to be sent to the warranty repair center four weeks after I received it and I was without a match pistol for about a month. I have never had problems getting Walther GSP parts when the issue has arisen twice in the last 20 years.

4. Have you owned one of these and them switched to another and why?

I shot a Walther GSP when I was on UT-Arlington's pistol team and then bought a Hammerli 280 thinking that it would be a lighter gun in the nose. The problem was that it was very hard to adjust the trigger in the Hammerli 280 the way I liked it and I had to take the safety out of the grip in order to get the settings in the trigger the way I wanted them. In addition the .32 conversion kit I had with the Hammerli 280 had the first round go high on every five shot string. I have heard a later version corrected it but the one I had was consistently off. I went out and bought a Walther GSP Expert that has a recoil reduction device and is much lighter in the front. I have never had a problem with my Walther GSP Expert.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I only want to buy once, so that's why I am trying to do as much research as I possibly can


Thanks


I hope that helps!

[fast shooter]

I shoot a benelli 90S, and it is very ammo sensitive. It needs ammo on the hotter side.
I've also owned GSP, Pardini and Hammerli SP 20, none of thjese were ammo sensetive, they shot anything well.
If you wish to try the Benelli, e-mail me. I shoot for Newport rifle club and belong to Massasoit gun club also. The gun is a right hand grip though.

[tenex]

In the leagues I shoot in, the Pardini it the most popular by far. That said, there are good shooters using all the other options with excellent results. My experience with the Pardini has been very positive. Very easy to clean, parts seem to be no problem from Larry, and reliability has been excellent, with 1 or 2 failures per case of RWS target. I did break a firing pin at 10,000+ rounds however, but it was very easy to replace.

I think the Pardini lends itself to a red dot more easily due to the integral grove and side ejection port, but the others can be made to work as well.

The only gun I might avoid is the 280, due to it being out of production, but you can make your own judgment on that...

Just my limited experience,
Steve.

[Gwhite]

I have both an MP90 and a Pardini SP New. My wife shots an older SP.

The Benelli is definitely fussier about ammo than the Pardinis, but the Pardinis can be a little fussy as well. You can't shoot just anything in any of them.

I like the Benelli, because the frame is steel, and the grip & balance suit me very well. I find the SP New muzzle heavy, even with most of the weights removed. The factory grip has a much steeper angle, and it hurts my elbow to shoot it. I got Rink & Nil Griffe grips, and I'm now shooting with a heavily carved up Nil Griffe grip. The Benelli is a pain to clean, and can't be dry fired easily. The Pardini design is really nice, and it is trivial to clean.

I have Docter sights mounted on all three pistols. Finding mounts was a real battle, and they required some minor modifications for all three pistols.

Parts are available for both, although finding parts for the older Pardini is likely to be a problem. The new magazines don't fit it, for example.
Benellis tend to break firing pins occasionally, and Pardini recoil springs should be replaced periodically.

If I could only have one pistol, it would be the Pardini.

I don't have any Walthers any more, and would never buy another one. They are fine while they are in production, but if they make a design change or discontinue them, they don't keep very many parts on hand. Repairing older guns becomes impossible. I suspect that they will pull the same stunt with Hammerli, now that they've bought them. Hammerli used to be legendary for having parts for really old pistols.

[ssauer2004]

I really appreciate all of the responses! I think I might be leaning to the Pardini a bit.

[Mike Taylor]

One consideration based upon my experience:
I used to shoot right-handed (and right eye, too). A 'standard' grip, whether from from Walther, or Hammerli, or Rink, or Nill, or Vitarbo, or Herretts, or Fung, seemed to fit me well with little in the way of filing or filler.
When I switched to shooting left-handed (and left eye), I found the 'standard' left hand grips did not allow a good 'natural' alignment of the sights. I had to cock my wrist sideways to bring the sights into alignment.
I found that the Rink grip with the 7-degree offset gave me a 'natural' sight alignment. I then modified a 'standard' LH grip with lots of putty and some filing to give me a grip similar to the offset Rink grip.
The point of this (pun intended) is to say that trying a gun with a particular right hand grip might not translate into satisfaction with that same gun with a left hand grip of mirror configuration. Be aware that you could find that your left hand 'natural' alignment is significantly different from your right hand 'natural' alignment.
Mike T.

[ssauer2004]

You've raised some interesting questions Mike.

[ssauer2004]

One more question, price aside, is it better to buy new or used? The reason why I ask is because when I called Larry's yesterday, they informed that on a Pardini, the warranty is not transferable to a second owner.

[ssauer2004]

After much research and discussion, I purchased a Walther GSP Expert. I purchased the pistol from Earl at Earl's Repair in Mass. Earl was great to deal with and made the purchase very enjoyable. I recommend that anyone interested in the GSP or any Walther firearm, call and talk to Earl. He knows everything about the GSP pistol, he designed it.

[nvalcik]

I think you will be very happy with your GSP Expert. I just upgraded my GSP in .32 to a .32 Expert conversion kit and it works great!

[bjsulla]

After much research and discussion, I purchased a Walther GSP Expert. I purchased the pistol from Earl at Earl's Repair in Mass. Earl was great to deal with and made the purchase very enjoyable. I recommend that anyone interested in the GSP or any Walther firearm, call and talk to Earl. He knows everything about the GSP pistol, he designed it.

Just for fun and because I am from Sweden. Some of the early history of the GSP. Sorry for the bad translation and the off topic...


Thore Eldh - Original designer of the GSP or the Gothenburg Sport Pistol.

Thore Eldh was not only a successful international known silver smith, he was also keen pistol shooter for many years. As he had mechanical knowledge he decided to design his own pistol.

During the years from 1940 to 1950 in the middle of world war II, Thore designed a pistol made for rapid fire that later became known as the Walther GSP.

Despite massive effort in trying to get the swedish manufacturer Husqvarna producing the pistol Thore was not successful selling his invention. But as he saw potential in his design he then contacted the German manufacter Carl Walther in Ulm. Walther recognized the brilliance in the design and could shortly present both a standard pistol and one made for rapid fire that were based on Thore's original design principals.

Thore never earned any money from his design and much to his regret Walther even managed to ruin one of the original pistols when they strapped it in a vice trying to test the accuracy.

Thore Eld was born in 1906 and died in 1967.

I find it amusing that one of most well known pistols are named after a Swedish city and almost no one knows of this, not even the Swedes.

Original article in Swedish

[mstuhr]

Thanks for the interesting story!